Internet Search Engines

An Internet search engine allows the user to enter keywords relating to a topic and retrieve information about Internet sites containing those keywords. When should you use a search engine? Use a search engine under the following conditions: 1) when you have a narrow or obscure topic or idea to research; 2) when you are looking for a specific site; 3) when you want to search the full text of millions of pages; 4) when you want to retrieve a large number of documents on your topic; 5) when you want to search for particular types of documents, file types, source locations; languages, date last modified, etc.; 6) when you want to take advantage of newer retrieval technologies such as concept clustering, ranking by popularity, link ranking, etc (Laura Cohen, University at Albany Libraries, SUNY).

What search engines should you use? Google? Dogpile? Ask.com? You probably have a favorite. Becoming more familiar with the features of each search engine, you will become more successful at finding the information you need. Visit http://www.infopeople.org/search/chart.html for a list of Internet search engines and their features.

Internet Tutorials
State University of New York at Albany Libraries offers the following resources:

How to Choose a Search Engine or Directory
This tutorial matches various criteria for searching the Internet with selected search engines and directories.
http://www.internettutorials.net/choose.html

Recommended Sites and Search Techniques
This tutorial explores a variety of search tools to help you gain skills in conducting research on the Internet.
http://www.internettutorials.net/started.html

University of Albany Libraries Conducting Research on the Internet
This web page describes how to formulate queries when doing research on the Internet as well as tips on conducting searches.
http://www.internettutorials.net/research.html

Evaluating Internet Resources
The Internet is a self-publishing medium. This means that anyone with a small amount of technical skill and access to a host computer can publish on the Internet. It is important to remember this when you locate sites in the course of your research. Internet sites change over time according to the commitment and inclination of the creator. Some sites demonstrate an expert’s knowledge, while others are amateur efforts. Some may be updated daily, while others may be outdated. As with any source, it is important to evaluate what you find (Laura Cohen, University of Albany Libraries, SUNY).
University at Albany Libraries Evaluating Internet Resources
This web page outlines the criteria for evaluating Internet resources.
http://library.albany.edu/usered/eval/eresources.html